Vortex mixing apparatus and method of use thereof

ABSTRACT

A apparatus comprising: a vessel component comprising a flow-through interior chamber having an interior sidewall and an exterior sidewall; at least two inlets for introducing chemical components into the flow-through interior chamber; at least one outlet for removing product from the flow-through interior chamber; and an off center rotation component which is operatively connected to the vessel component. During operation of the apparatus, the off center rotation component generates vortical movement of at least two chemical components through the flow-through interior chamber of the vessel, and converts at least a portion of the at least two chemical components to at least one reaction product or product mixture. A method of using the apparatus to produce reaction products or product mixtures. The apparatus and method are useful for producing specialty chemicals such as fragrance and flavor compounds, insect pheromones, petrochemicals, pharmaceutical compounds, agrichemical compounds, and the like.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/884,615, filed on Sep. 30, 2013, which is incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

1. Field of the Disclosure

This disclosure relates to a vortex mixing apparatus and a method of usethereof. In particular, this disclosure involves generating vorticalmovement of a fluid in a flow vessel by an external oscillatory surface.

2. Description of the Related Art

It is well-known that the reaction rate between two or more chemicalconstituents is enhanced by bringing the constituents into more intimatecontact. Thus various types of mixing, stirring, agitating, and/orcentrifuging methods have been used to produce faster and more completereaction between two or more chemical constituents. However, suchmethods of mixing may not be sufficient in certain cases ofinstantaneous reactions in which side products are possible. The buildupof desired products can react again with starting materials and reduceyields. Various methods of flow chemistry, in which starting materialsare simultaneously added continuously, have been employed to addressthis problem.

One example is to bring starting materials in contact through a T-tubetype mixer with or without static mixing elements and baffles. Themixing in a tube relies on the flow rate of the material and exothermicreactions may not be cooled efficiently at higher flow rates. Asufficiently small tube in which mixing can occur via diffusion withgood heat transfer solves this problem but limits throughput as well aslimits any particulate matter from being introduced or formed during thereaction.

Another example involves the use of active mixing elements, which mixindependently of flow rate. These systems have many benefits but requireextensive engineering requirements and/or expensive seals. These systemsalso tend to have shearing elements of 100-500 uM size, which can limitthe usefulness with solid feeds/formation.

Another important factor desirable for increasing throughput in a flowreactor system is often the surface area to volume ratio ofheating/cooling. Exothermic reactions can potentially form undesirableside products at certain temperatures and to control this temperatureincrease, either flow rates need to be lowered or starting materialsmust be diluted.

The present disclosure provides many advantages over current technology,which shall become apparent as described below.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The method of this disclosure provides exceptional mixing on arelatively small scale and desirable removal of product from thereaction medium. The undesired buildup of reaction product and/orpartially reacted material in the reaction medium is minimized orprevented in accordance with the method of this disclosure.

In accordance with this disclosure, vortical movement of a fluid isgenerated in a flow vessel by an external oscillatory surface, e.g., anexternal dual action motor. The flow vessel remains essentiallystationary during operation by use of a stabilizing element attached tothe vessel. In particular, vortical movement of at least two chemicalcomponents is generated through a flow-through interior chamber of avessel component by an external off center rotation component. Thevortical movement creates a vortical layer of vessel contents on aninterior sidewall of the flow-through interior chamber. At least aportion of the vortical layer can be removed through an outlet asreaction product or product mixture.

This disclosure relates in part to a method that comprises providing anapparatus in which the apparatus comprises: a vessel componentcomprising a flow-through interior chamber having an interior sidewalland an exterior sidewall; at least two inlets for introducing chemicalcomponents into the flow-through interior chamber; at least one outletfor removing product from the flow-through interior chamber; and an offcenter rotation component which is operatively connected to the vesselcomponent. The method further comprises introducing through the at leasttwo inlets, at least two chemical components into the flow-throughinterior chamber of the vessel component; generating vortical movementof the at least two chemical components through the flow-throughinterior chamber of the vessel component; wherein the vortical movementis generated by the off center rotation component; and converting atleast a portion of the at least two chemical components to at least onereaction product or product mixture.

This disclosure also relates in part to an apparatus that comprises avessel component comprising a flow-through interior chamber having aninterior sidewall and an exterior sidewall; at least two inlets forintroducing chemical components into the flow-through interior chamber;at least one outlet for removing product from the flow-through interiorchamber; and an off center rotation component which is operativelyconnected to the vessel component. During operation of the apparatus,the off center rotation component generates vortical movement of atleast two chemical components through the flow-through interior chamberof the vessel, and converts at least a portion of the at least twochemical components to at least one reaction product or product mixture.

Advantages of this disclosure include, for example, simplicity of themethod and reactor apparatus, superior ability to handle solids withoutclogging, excellent heat transfer, and low cost of the method andreactor apparatus. Because the flow reactor remains essentiallystationary during operation, expensive and failure prone seals are notrequired.

Further objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure willbe understood by reference to the following drawings and detaileddescription.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an illustrative vortex mixing apparatusin accordance with an embodiment of this disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an illustrative vortex mixing apparatusin accordance with an embodiment of this disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present disclosure now are described more fullyhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some,but not all, embodiments of the disclosure are shown. Indeed, thedisclosure can be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure may satisfy applicablelegal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

The terms “comprises” or “comprising” are to be interpreted asspecifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps orcomponents, but not precluding the presence of one or more otherfeatures, integers, steps or components or groups thereof.

Where possible, any terms expressed in the singular form herein aremeant to also include the plural form and vice versa, unless explicitlystated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “a” and/or “an” shallmean “one or more,” even though the phrase “one or more” is also usedherein. Furthermore, when stated herein that something is “based on”something else, it may be based on one or more other things as well. Inother words, unless expressly indicated otherwise, as used herein “basedon” means “based at least in part on” or “based at least partially on”.

As used herein, “vortical layer” refers to a volume of vessel contents(e.g., chemical components and/or reaction products and/or productmixtures) which has a circular or swirl flow pattern. In some cases, thevortical layer can be viewed as a rotating film of liquid such that anygiven particle within the liquid carrier follows a generally spiral pathalong the interior sidewall of the flow-through interior chamber of thevessel upwardly toward the outlet. Those skilled in the art willrecognize that fluid flow patterns can include turbulent mixing and canvary significantly. Further, gradients in flow velocity can varyradially as well as along the length of the flow-through interiorchamber of the vessel.

As used herein, the “vessel” or “vessel component” refers to a reactoror reactor component, or to a mixer or mixer component. When the vesselcomponent is a reactor component, the chemical components are reactants,and the product is a reaction product. When the vessel component is amixer component, the chemical components are non-reactive chemicals, andthe product is a product mixture.

Where methods described herein indicate certain events (e.g., mixing ofmaterials) occurring in certain orders, the ordering of certain eventsmay be modified. Moreover, while a method may be described as operatingin a sequential manner, it should be understood that many of themethod's operations can occur concurrently or in a different order.

In accordance with the present disclosure, a method of synthesizingcompounds can include providing at least two chemical components in avortical layer. Vortical movement of the at least two chemicalcomponents is generated through a flow-through interior chamber of avessel component. The vortical movement is generated by an off centerrotation component. At least a portion of the at least two chemicalcomponents is converted to at least one reaction product or productmixture.

Although a number of vessels can be used, the preferred configuration isa vortex mixing apparatus. FIGS. 1 and 2 show vortex mixing apparatuseswhich are described in more detail below. The off center rotationcomponent has an off center rotational speed that can be adjusted toachieve a predetermined vortical layer thickness and height along theinterior sidewall of the flow-through interior chamber. Vorticalthickness can be thicker with faster flow rates.

As the vortical layer travels upwardly through the vertical flow-throughinterior chamber of the vessel, synthesized compounds and/or reactionproducts and/or product mixtures can be removed from the vessel.Typically, the vortex layer rotates in an annular or cylindrical filmlayer along the interior sidewall of the vessel. Therefore, in oneaspect, the vortical layer can be removed from at least one outlet ofthe vessel. Depending on the particular components in the outlet stream,separations can include a gas-liquid separator or liquid-liquidseparation process.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the vortical layer mayhave a thickness from about 0.1% to about 40%, preferably from about0.1% to about 20%, of a diameter of the vessel, and more preferablyabout 0.1% to about 5%. Preferably, in most instances, a thinner film isdesired. Thus, throughput per vessel volume may be increased because ofimproved contact and increased heat and mass transfer. Further, thevessel and method of the present disclosure may suppress side-reactionsand increase selectivity. Preferably, the vortex goes to the bottom ofthe flow-through interior chamber and remains relatively constant. Asused herein, the vortical thicknesses are measured at a location in theflow-through interior chamber where the vortical movement of vesselcontents approaches, and just before the vortical movement of vesselcontents exits, the outlet tube.

Typical synthesis reactions are exothermic, thus heat can be removedfrom the vortical layer via any number of cooling elements. For example,cooling coils or other cooling elements can be placed within thevortical layer, preferably with minimal flow disturbance. Optionally, anexternal jacket or cooling tubes can be placed in thermal contact withthe reactor body.

The vortex mixing apparatus and method of the present disclosure can beused in a wide variety of chemical reactions. By way of example, thechemical reaction can be a catalytic reaction. As such, a solid catalystmaterial can be provided as part of the liquid carrier to form asolid-liquid catalyst slurry. Alternatively, the catalyst material canbe provided as a liquid catalyst, or a catalyst which is soluble in thecarrier, which is mixed with the liquid carrier. Such catalyticreactions are multi-phase reactions including a solid or liquidcatalyst, liquid carrier, a gas reactant, and optionally, reactionproducts. In some embodiments, the catalytic reactions are reactionsinvolving at least three-phases.

The reactants can depend on the specific synthesis reaction desired.Either gas or liquid compositions can be used which contain specificreactants. In some embodiments, the reactant composition can includehydrogen and carbon monoxide, oxygen alone, oxygen and gaseous reactant,hydrogen alone, or gaseous reactant alone.

A wide range of chemical synthesis processes can be carried out usingthe vortex mixing apparatus and method of the present disclosure.Several examples of classes of reactions which are suitable for use inthe present disclosure include, but are not limited to, Wittigreactions, Grignard reactions, synthesis of higher alcohols, oxidationproducts, alkylation products, oligomerization products, hydrogenationproducts, and Fischer-Tropsch products. Illustrative products include,for example, specialty chemicals such as fragrance and flavor compounds,insect pheromones, pharmaceutical compounds, petrochemicals,agrichemical compounds, and the like.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 1 and 2 in which the variousembodiments of the present disclosure will be discussed. It is to beunderstood that the following description is only exemplary of theprinciples of the present disclosure, and should not be viewed asnarrowing the appended claims.

The manufacturing economy of reaction products is highly dependent onthe efficiency of reactors used during synthesis processes. In anembodiment of the present disclosure, a vortex mixing reactor formulti-phase (gas, liquids and/or solids containing) processes canprovide a reaction environment which allows for improved selectivity,improved yield and high reliability.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a vortex mixing apparatus 100 can beused to establish a controlled high force field by vortical flow inorder to increase the inertia of fine chemical component particlessuspended in the mixture and to produce a high density of chemicalcomponents with directed motion in order to improve collisionefficiency. The vortex mixing apparatus 100 can include a vessel bodywhich can be comprised of multiple sections, although a single unitcould be manufactured. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a flow-throughinterior chamber 102 can have inlets 106 operatively connected to thebottom portion thereof. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, theflow-through interior chamber 102 can have inlets 106 operativelyconnected to the top portion thereof. The vessel component comprisingthe flow-through interior chamber 102 is operatively connected with anoff center rotation component 104. Vortical movement of the vesselcontents 110 is generated by the off center rotation component 104.

In addition to inlets 106, one or more secondary inlets can beoperatively connected to the flow-through interior chamber 102. Thesecondary inlets can be configured for use in introducing additionalsolid, gas, and/or liquid chemical components into the flow-throughinterior chamber 102 of the vortex mixing apparatus 100. The vortexmixing apparatus 100 of this disclosure is a flow-through vessel suchthat chemical components enter one portion of the flow-through interiorchamber 102 and exit a separate portion of the flow-through interiorchamber 102.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the reactant product or productmixture outlet 108 is positioned on the exterior sidewall of theflow-through interior chamber 102 such that a rising portion of thevortical layer 112 is removed from the flow-through interior chamber 102as reaction product or product mixture. The reaction product or productmixture discharged from the vortex mixing apparatus 100 can be directedto a separate unit for further reaction and/or separations. Thus, insome embodiments, a separator can be operatively connected to thereaction product or product mixture outlet 108. Non-limiting examples ofsuch separators can include gas-liquid separators, liquid-liquidseparators, or the like. Such separators are well-known to those skilledin the art and can be chosen based on the particular reaction productsor product mixtures.

Although FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a vertical vessel, the actualorientation can be varied to almost any position. In some embodiments,the chemical components and vortical layer travel at a sufficiently highvelocity to make the direction of gravity largely irrelevant. Therefore,in some embodiments, the vessel can be oriented in a horizontal orinversed position.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the vortex mixing apparatus 100 is shownwherein chemical components are fed through inlets that enter from abottom portion into the flow-through interior chamber 102 to develop avortical flow of a certain thickness in the radial direction. Referringagain to FIG. 2, the chemical components can also be fed through inletsthat enter from the top of the tube through a header portion or the sidewall. The reactants can include liquid, gas and/or solid materials. Forexample, solid particles can be suspended in the liquid chemicalcomponents, e.g., an oil, to form a slurry.

In an embodiment, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the vortex mixingapparatus 100 includes an off center rotation component 104 which isoperatively connected to the vessel component, i.e., flow-throughinterior chamber 102. The off center rotation component 104 has an offcenter rotational speed that is adjusted to achieve a predeterminedvortical layer thickness and height along the interior sidewall of theflow-through interior chamber 102. The vortical flow of the vesselcontents 110 forms a rotating vortical layer or film 112 of the vesselcontents 110. Preferably, the vortical movement creates a vortical layer112 of vessel contents 110 on the interior sidewall of the flow-throughinterior chamber 102. Off center rotation devices useful in thisdisclosure are well-known to those skilled in the art and can be chosenbased on the particular off center rotational speed required for aparticular reaction, reaction products, product mixtures, and the like.

In accordance with this disclosure, the vessel component, i.e.,flow-through interior chamber 102, remains essentially stationary duringoperation, and is operatively connected to the off center rotationcomponent 104. Preferably, a stabilizing element or elements such as auniversal joint or clamp 114 is used above the vibratory surface of theoff center rotation component 104 to hold the vessel component, i.e.,flow-through interior chamber 102, in place.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the reaction product or productmixture can be discharged through the discharge outlet 108. The product(e.g., liquid) exiting the discharge outlet 108 tube has at least someback pressure, and it is important to prevent any of the liquid buildingup in the exit tube or backfilling. Preferably, the tube is sufficientlywide and/or downward sloping to allow free flow of product beingdischarged from the tube. Alternatively, this can also be achieved with,for example, a pump.

The specific operating conditions can vary, depending on the desiredreaction or mixing operation. However, the vortex mixing apparatus 100can typically operate at reaction temperatures in the range of −80°C.-350° C. and pressure range of 1-100 atm. Further, the vortex mixingapparatus 100 can operate over a wide range of temperature and pressure.The materials and thickness of the vessel can be adjusted in order toaccommodate high reaction temperatures and pressures. For example, thethickness of the flow-through interior chamber 102 can be increased ordecreased to account for varying reactor or mixer conditions. The vesselbody can be formed of any material which is non-reactive with thechemical component and product compositions and is capable ofwithstanding the operating conditions such as temperature, pressure,abrasiveness and the like. Non-limiting examples of suitable materialsincludes glass, polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon), polyoxymethylene(Delrin), Hastelloy alloys, stainless steel, INCONEL (Ni—Cr—Fe alloys),ceramic, wood, plastics (e.g., polyether ether ketone (PEEK)), andcomposites or alloys thereof.

In another embodiment of the vortex mixing apparatus 100 of FIGS. 1 and2, two or more chemical components (e.g., liquid) and an optionalcatalyst can be provided. Alternatively, solids can be fed with anappropriate feeding device for one or both of the chemical components.In one embodiment, the liquid chemical components can include homogenoussolid catalyst particles (e.g., 1-10 μm) suspended or dissolved in theliquid chemical components. The catalyst particles can be provided in avariety of forms such as, but not limited to, powder, particulate,needles, coated surfaces, coated particles, or the like. In anotherembodiment, the catalyst can comprise a liquid. The liquid chemicalcomponents and catalyst can be fed through the header portion of theflow-through interior chamber 102 and, vortical movement is generated bythe off center rotation component of the liquid chemical components andcatalyst through the flow-through interior chamber of the vesselcomponent. The vortical flow is of a certain thickness in the radialdirection. Depending on the synthesis process and reaction kinetics, aplurality of vortex mixing apparatuses can be oriented in series and/orparallel to achieve a desired conversion, yield, and/or reactionsequence.

In the case of exothermic reactions (synthesis gas processes,alkylation, etc.), the process temperature can be determined either bycontrolling the inlet temperature of the reactants, vaporizing lowerboiling liquid products into the gas phase, and/or inserting a coolingcoil into the reaction space of the vortex mixing reactor. Generally,cooling elements can be placed in thermal contact with the reactants inthe vortical flow and/or the reactor body. For example, cooling coilscan be placed inside the reactor body within the vortical flow.Preferably, the cooling coils can be oriented to minimize vortical flowdisturbance, e.g. parallel to flow direction. Alternatively, or inaddition to internal cooling coils, a cooling jacket or cooling coilscan be placed around the outside of the reactor body. In an arrangementof vortex mixing reactors working in series, the cooling units can beplaced between the reactors or along feed lines to each reactor. Forreactions that require heat, the elements used for cooling can also beused for heating. In accordance with this disclosure, some reactions canbe heated to accelerate reaction time.

Exceptional dispersion of the chemical component compositions enhances,among other things, robust reaction conditions, and suppresses unwantedside reactions. Due to improved mass and heat transfer characteristics,and high throughput per unit reactor volume, use of this apparatus isexpected to enable significant reductions in capital and operationalcosts of synthesis processes relative to multi-tubular reactors. Thevortex mixing apparatus provides for the vessel contents to pass throughthe vessel in essentially a rotating thin film or vortical movement.Thus, the chemical components are primarily contacted throughout thevortical flow and limits exposure of reaction products to the reactionmixture. This assists in selective conversion of chemical components tothe desired products and reduces undesirable side reactions by reducingcontact times.

Special design considerations can be used to establish the conditionsnecessary for high efficiency reactions and mixing operations.

As described herein, in addition to representing a vertical reactor,FIGS. 1 and 2 also represent a vertical mixer. The mixture of materialsdischarged from the mixer can be used as a reaction feed for adownstream reaction. In this embodiment, no reaction occurs in themixer. In another embodiment, two or more materials can be premixedbefore adding a third material. Also, in this embodiment, the threematerials can be discharged as a mixture or a reaction can occur betweenthe premixed materials and the third material added subsequently.

In some instances, it may not be safe to mix two materials together on alarge scale because with the introduction of a trace catalyst/acidcontaminant, an uncontrolled reaction may result. In accordance with themixing embodiment of this disclosure, two materials can be mixed priorto entering a vessel with a catalyst. An additional advantage of themixing embodiment is that the chemical component feed can be preheatedand/or precooled efficiently.

In particular, the mixing apparatus of this disclosure can be used toadd, either at ambient temperature, heated or cooled (with a jacket),two or more materials prior to feeding to a catalyst and/or anotherreagent(s), at which time the desired reaction can take place.

Some of the factors which can be used to describe the fluid flowphenomena within the present disclosure are vortical layer thickness,residence time, and velocity of vortical layer. Vortical-layer thicknessis dependent on the rotational speed of the off center rotationcomponent, chemical component flowrate and cylinder length, and canrange from about 0.1% to about 40% as described herein, and oftenapproximately 5% of the radius of the vortex mixing apparatus.

The vortex mixing apparatus can be sized to almost any capacity,depending on the intended application without affecting the basicfunction of the apparatus. However, most often the vortex mixingapparatus can have a vessel body having an inner diameter from about 4cm to about 1 meter and preferably from about 5 cm to about 0.5 meter.The discussion herein focuses on a flow-through interior chamber;however, other configurations can also be used. For example, the vesselbody can have a conical shape on at least the interior surface. In thisexample, the conical shape can narrow in diameter toward the outlet. Inthis way, flow velocities and local pressures can be controlled andmaintained at predetermined levels without additional devices.

The vortex mixing apparatus of the present disclosure can be used in awide variety of chemical synthesis processes. Suitable processes caninclude, but are not limited to, Wittig reactions, Grignard reactions,synthesis of higher alcohols, oxidation products, alkylation products,oligomerization products, hydrogenation products, Fischer-Tropschproducts, and other processes with gas, liquids, and/or solids slurries.Illustrative products include, for example, specialty chemicals such asfragrance and flavor compounds, insect pheromones, pharmaceuticalcompounds, petrochemicals, agrichemical compounds, and the like. Thechemical components can be any fluids capable of establishing thedesired vortical flow, and in some cases, capable of suspending catalystparticles therein.

While we have shown and described several embodiments in accordance withour disclosure, it is to be clearly understood that the same may besusceptible to numerous changes apparent to one skilled in the art.Therefore, we do not wish to be limited to the details shown anddescribed but intend to show all changes and modifications that comewithin the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: providing an apparatuscomprising: a vessel component comprising a flow-through interiorchamber having an interior sidewall and an exterior sidewall; at leasttwo inlets for introducing chemical components into the flow-throughinterior chamber; at least one outlet for removing product from theflow-through interior chamber; and an off center rotation componentwhich is operatively connected to the vessel component; introducingthrough the at least two inlets, at least two chemical components intothe flow-through interior chamber of the vessel component; generatingvortical movement of the at least two chemical components through theflow-through interior chamber of the vessel component; wherein thevortical movement is generated by the off center rotation component; andconverting at least a portion of the at least two chemical components toat least one reaction product or product mixture.
 2. The method of claim1 wherein the vessel component is a reactor component, the chemicalcomponents are reactants, and the product is a reaction product; or thevessel component is a mixer component, the chemical components arenon-reactive chemicals, and the product is a product mixture.
 3. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the off center rotation component has an offcenter rotational speed that is adjusted to achieve a predeterminedvortical layer thickness and height along the interior sidewall of theflow-through interior chamber.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein thevortical movement creates a vortical layer of vessel contents on theinterior sidewall of the flow-through interior chamber, and at least aportion of the vortical layer is removed through the at least one outletas reaction product or product mixture.
 5. The method of claim 4 whereinthe at least one outlet is positioned on the exterior sidewall of theflow-through interior chamber such that a rising portion of the vorticallayer is removed from the flow-through interior chamber as reactionproduct or product mixture.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the atleast two chemical components have a flowrate which is adjusted toachieve a predetermined vortical layer thickness.
 7. The method of claim1 further comprising removing heat from, or introducing heat into, thevortical layer.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least twochemical components comprise liquid, solid and/or gaseous materials. 9.The method of claim 1 further comprising recovering the at least onereaction product or product mixture.
 10. The method of claim 1 whereinthe at least one reaction product comprises a fragrance ingredient, aflavor compound, an insect pheromone, a pharmaceutical compound,petrochemical, or an agrichemical compound, and the at least one productmixture is used as a reaction feed for a downstream reaction.
 11. Anapparatus comprising: a vessel component comprising a flow-throughinterior chamber having an interior sidewall and an exterior sidewall;at least two inlets for introducing chemical components into theflow-through interior chamber; at least one outlet for removing productfrom the flow-through interior chamber; and an off center rotationcomponent which is operatively connected to the vessel component;wherein, during operation of said apparatus, the off center rotationcomponent generates vortical movement of at least two chemicalcomponents through the flow-through interior chamber of the vessel, andconverts at least a portion of the at least two chemical components toat least one reaction product or product mixture.
 12. The apparatus ofclaim 11 wherein the vessel component is a reactor component, thechemical components are reactants, and the product is a reactionproduct; or the vessel component is a mixer component, the chemicalcomponents are non-reactive chemicals, and the product is a productmixture.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the off center rotationcomponent has an off center rotational speed that is adjusted to achievea predetermined vortical layer thickness and height along the interiorsidewall of the flow-through interior chamber.
 14. The apparatus ofclaim 11 wherein the vortical movement creates a vortical layer ofvessel contents on the interior sidewall of the flow-through interiorchamber, and at least a portion of the vortical layer is removed throughthe at least one outlet as reaction product or product mixture.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 14 wherein the at least one outlet is positioned onthe exterior sidewall of the flow-through interior chamber such that arising portion of the vortical layer is removed from the flow-throughinterior chamber as reaction product or product mixture.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 11 wherein the at least two chemical components havea flowrate which is adjusted to achieve a predetermined vortical layerthickness.
 17. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein heat is removed from,or introduced into, the vortical layer.
 18. The apparatus of claim 11wherein the at least two chemical components comprise liquid, solidand/or gaseous materials.
 19. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the atleast one reaction product or product mixture is recovered.
 20. Theapparatus of claim 11 wherein the at least one reaction productcomprises a fragrance ingredient, a flavor compound, an insectpheromone, a pharmaceutical compound, petrochemical, or an agrichemicalcompound, and the at least one product mixture is used as a reactionfeed for a downstream reaction.
 21. A method which comprises generatingvortical movement of a fluid in a vessel by an external off centerrotation component.
 22. The method of claim 21 wherein the vorticalmovement creates a vortical layer of the fluid on an interior sidewallof the vessel.